The present disclosure generally relates to cooling items in a vehicle in addition to or separate from cooling the passenger compartment, and more particularly relates to a method and system for cooling items (e.g., food, beverages, etc.) using the vehicle HVAC system.
Vehicles having a built-in cooler for storing food and beverages are known to use a compressor, which is not the same compressor for the HVAC system, or to use the vehicle air conditioning refrigerant loop. Using a vehicle HVAC system to cool items, e.g. beverages, food, etc., within a storage bin located in the vehicle is also known. For example, a storage bin located near a vehicle glove box connects to the vehicle HVAC system so the cooled air is provided into the storage bin via the air conditioning system. It is also known to cool individual beverages using the vehicle HVAC system by placing these beverages in a housing where the housing is connected with a vehicle HVAC system so that cool air from the air conditioning system is blown over the beverage container.
Known systems that employ the vehicle HVAC system to cool a cooled storage bin or to cool an individual beverage are turned on and off by a mechanical shut-off valve (if the system is shut off at all). Also in these known systems, there is no control link between the cooled storage bin being ON or OFF and the vehicle HVAC operation. Accordingly, operation of the cooling storage bin can be to the detriment of the HVAC system, which can adversely affect the comfort of the vehicle cabin.